ATLAS

ATLAS is one of the four main experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

Like CMS, ATLAS is a general purpose detector designed to investigate a wide range of physics including supersymmetry, extra dimensions and particles that could make up dark matter.

The scientific goals for the two experiments are the same, but they use different technical solutions. These similar science goals, but different designs allow the two experiments to cross-check results and confirm exciting discoveries such as a Higgs boson.

Quick facts

About the ATLAS detector

Size

46 metres long, 25 metres in diameter

Weight

7,000 tonnes

Design

Barrel plus endcaps

About the ATLAS people

Collaboration

More than 3000 physicists, engineers, technicians and support staff

Number of countries

38

Number of institutes

174

Number of UK institutes

16

How does it work?

The main feature of ATLAS is its enormous magnet system; eight 25m long superconducting magnet coils forming a cylinder around the beam pipe at the heart of the detector. The magnets bend the paths of charged particles to measure their momentum.

ATLAS records sets of measurements on the particles created in collisions - their motion, energies, and their characteristics. This is done by six different detecting subsystems that identify particles and measure their momentum and energy.

ATLAS has the largest volume of any collider detector ever constructed. It was built in a cavern, 100m below ground near the village of Meyrin in Switzerland.